Protect your front door from the weather and make your entryway more energy efficient, all while enjoying the view.

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Storm doors offer added protection from inclement weather and can improve the energy efficiency of your entryway. They also let you enjoy the outdoors if you buy one with a glass pane.

Most storm doors are made of an aluminum frame with a full or partial glass panel that can be changed out with a screen in warm weather.

If you have a wood door that is not protected by a porch, a storm door will prolong the life of your door by keeping it dry in bad weather. If you decide on a low-E glass panel, it will help prevent a wood door from fading. Because storm doors have weather stripping around the door jamb, they offer another layer of energy efficiency to your entry door when the glass is in place.

Full-View Storm Doors

Storm doors with a full-view glass panel allow the beauty of your entry door to show through, and also allow you to capitalize on the view. They are the most popular storm door.

These doors are perfect for any style home. There are many different types of glass designs available, with grills to match the windows, or etched-glass designs to reflect your personal taste.

Some require that you remove the glass panel and replace it with a full-view insect screen while others are self-storing, meaning that the glass panel drops down while the screen pulls up. There are storm doors available with a retractable screen that rolls up like a window shade and stores hidden from view in the frame of the door.

Standard-sized storm doors cost less than an entry door, but storm doors that fit larger openings are often custom-made and cost more.

Cost: $190 to $400

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Photo courtesy of Pella

Photo courtesy of Pella

Partial View

Storm doors with a solid, decorative panel on the bottom and the glass/screen combination on top are called partial-view doors. They suit traditional-style houses and many of the newer versions have the self-storing feature that allows you to drop down the glass panel and pull up the insect screen. They allow the least amount of ventilation and light to enter the house.

Cost: $97 to $300

Self-Storing

To avoid the hassle of removing the glass panels of storm doors and replacing them with a screen, many manufacturers offer doors that store the glass and screens inside the door. The glass panel drops down and the screen panel pulls up to fill the opening.

Some doors offer a screen that acts like a window shade, retracting into the door frame out of view when not in use.